On how the inner life feeds on itself, and how attention is where you break the cycle. Picture a moment that did not go your way. A message lands wrong, or a conversation turns, and within a few seconds a great deal is happening all at once. There is a heat in the chest or a drop in the stomach. There is a wave of hurt or anger or fear. (Or all three!) There is a story running about what they mean… and what it says about you… and what you will do next. Your attention narrows to a fine point...

On the felt thing in the middle, and the two things that arrive with it but are not it. You glance at your phone. A short message, a few words, no warmth in them. Before you have consciously decided anything, your chest tightens, your stomach drops. You feel it. On top of that, a story is already running. What did they mean by that? Did I do something? You go back and reread the message you just sent, trying to work out how they might be taking it. Here we go again. Thirty seconds ago you...

On the body's direct contact with the world, and the layer of experience that is happening before we name it. Right now, whether you have noticed it or not, something is touching you. The chair is holding your weight, or the floor is pressing up through your feet. There is fabric against your skin. The air in the room has a temperature, and your skin is reporting it. None of this stopped while you were reading. It was all happening the entire time, below the level of notice, waiting for...